At about $180USD, it is even available in choice of colour.
12mp with 4x Optical zoom, and image stabilization (for those shaky mornings) :D
With 12mp awesome 24"x36" poster size prints are easily achievable with proper processing.

Any more questions feel free to ask here or email me off list at teskor-at-tbaytel-dot-net

Cheers,

March 9th, 2010, 07:34 PM

Richli2

Check out the Nikon Coolpix. They have many models with many $200. or less.They are easy to use, autofocus, autoflash and take great pictures.
Be sure to read your manual. It is very helpful in explaining all the features and how to use them

March 9th, 2010, 09:41 PM

rjammin

Canon, any Canon. I just bought a Canon SD780 IS for my son at Walmart for $90 (on sale, was $199). It's a 12.1 Mega Pixel with a 3X zoom. I own 2 other Canon's that I paid under $200 for that take excellent pics. I also bought a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 right before our trip to CSS in 2008. I think I paid over $400 for it. It has a 10X zoom and I really thought since it was so much more expensive, the pictures would be fantastic. I checked reviews for a month before buying it too. I was sick when I saw the pictures on my computer when we got home. I utilized all of the various settings for nighttime, beach, daylight, etc and, of course, auto and all of the pictures were bad. This was a good example of not getting what you paid for. My current camera is a Canon SD770 IS that I bought before our return to CSS last year. I think I paid about $149 and the pictures are fantastic. It's compact and easy. Point & shoot. Unless you plan on photography for a living, you don't need to pay more than $200 for a camera. CSA in 22 days!!! With my Canon BTW.

March 10th, 2010, 08:22 AM

laticsforlife

I can highly recommend the Panasonic Lumix range as they have long optical zoom lenses (up to 12x), with excellent anti-shake and good face detection.

In the UK these are badged as TZ6 and TZ7.

Whether your budget will stretch to the TZ7 I do not know, but Ebay has 1000's of them, and the TZ6 only lacks HD Video in terms of features, and they do seem to be within your budget.

They benefit from small and light batteries (not disposable heavy ones), and use cheap SD memory cards.

March 10th, 2010, 09:00 AM

KrisJamie

I'd recommend a Canon Powershot in that range, but opinions will be diverse on this one.

Avoid Sony.

March 10th, 2010, 10:19 AM

John from Jersey

I also needed a new camera when we returned to Couples last year. I bought a Nikon Coolpix L20 on sale for $120. An amateur photographer since my school days, I found this camera to have plenty of features for the money, able to shoot up to a 1/2 hour of video and easy to use. One of the photos I took with it even won 3rd place in the Couples photo contest.

March 10th, 2010, 12:21 PM

drbcwp

Canon, they really take good pictures. I have an elph that is a few years old and it is tiny, it takes beautiful pictures, fits into your shirt pocket, the battery lasts a long time, nice color display.

I have owned Nikon and other brands and the Canon works better.

March 10th, 2010, 12:27 PM

The2ofus

Hi, I can't tell you what to choose, but just wanted to interject that cameras that also go underwater are becoming more the norm. And the prices have come way down in the last year or so.
Might be something to add to your criteria.

March 10th, 2010, 12:41 PM

AHammon

1 Attachment(s)

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjammin

Canon, any Canon. I just bought a Canon SD780 IS for my son at Walmart for $90 (on sale, was $199). It's a 12.1 Mega Pixel with a 3X zoom. I own 2 other Canon's that I paid under $200 for that take excellent pics. I also bought a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ3 right before our trip to CSS in 2008. I think I paid over $400 for it. It has a 10X zoom and I really thought since it was so much more expensive, the pictures would be fantastic. I checked reviews for a month before buying it too. I was sick when I saw the pictures on my computer when we got home. I utilized all of the various settings for nighttime, beach, daylight, etc and, of course, auto and all of the pictures were bad. This was a good example of not getting what you paid for. My current camera is a Canon SD770 IS that I bought before our return to CSS last year. I think I paid about $149 and the pictures are fantastic. It's compact and easy. Point & shoot. Unless you plan on photography for a living, you don't need to pay more than $200 for a camera. CSA in 22 days!!! With my Canon BTW.

The one I have my eye on is a Canon PowerShot SX120-IS Black 10MP Digital Camera.

March 10th, 2010, 12:44 PM

Lindsi84

Canon's are great, but I got an Olympus 550 WP which is waterproof and takes WONDERFUL pictures in and out of the water. Less than $200 and serves all purposes :)

March 10th, 2010, 12:56 PM

rocket dog

I suggest going to Digital Photography Review and reading the reviews. They review just about every camera that comes out. They are very detailed and helped me pick out a point & shoot digital camera several years ago.

Also, read reviews on Amazon -- lots of good advice (and warnings) from users who own and use the camera being reviewed.

March 10th, 2010, 01:18 PM

pb203

Camera

If you can increase that limit to $300 you can get a waterproof camera that will leave you with fewer worries.

March 10th, 2010, 01:43 PM

rjammin

The one I have my eye on is a Canon PowerShot SX120-IS Black 10MP Digital Camera.

AHammon,
It's funny you mentioned you were looking at the Canon SX120 IS. I don't know what the difference is between the SX120 IS and the SD120 IS but I just ordered 6 of the SD's for some of the guys who work for me. I am a service manager for a commercial heating and AC company and we use digital cameras to take pics of equipment. I wanted a decent camera that if lost (or dropped off of a roof) we wouldn't be out a lot of money. At the same time I needed a camera that would give us quality pictures of equipment for both close up's and shots from a distance. I will usually email pics to customers with my quotes. I bought them online at Amazon for $149, no tax & free shipping. I ordered them Saturday and they came yesterday.

March 10th, 2010, 03:11 PM

rocket dog

Quote:

Originally Posted by pb203

If you can increase that limit to $300 you can get a waterproof camera that will leave you with fewer worries.

True, but I would caution anyone looking for a waterproof camera to really do their homework before buying. Many of the lesser expensive ones have a lot of complaints about leakage. They also tend to take lower quality photos overall. Your best bet might be to buy a regular (non-waterproof) camera, then buy a waterproof case for it. The custom manufacturer cases are usually pricey, but you can also find an affordable solution here: http://www.dicapac.com/

I used a Dicapac waterproof case for my Canon point & shoot during a couple of snorkeling trips, and although it's a little awkward to use it did work flawlessly without leaking.

March 10th, 2010, 08:37 PM

Sun Kissed

We recently bought a Panasonic Lumix ZR1 and love it. Easy to use, takes great pictures, and has unbelievable video capabilities. We spent considerable time researching and it definately paid off. Love it!

March 10th, 2010, 10:00 PM

aceswild

Canon PowerShot.. i have SD1100 and love it.

March 12th, 2010, 05:32 PM

CaliforniaGuy

Panasonic Lumix with the Leica lens....GREAT CAMERA! One of President Bush's photographers recommended it to me and since then I have given it as a gift 4 times and we all love it.

March 12th, 2010, 09:49 PM

rastagal77

Another vote for Panasonic Lumix..I did a TON of research, ended up going with this one because of the Mega zoom (12x) and HD video. I really wanted the extra zoom to get those great sunset pics! Got mine new off EBAY for about $215.

March 13th, 2010, 09:22 AM

krsmay

We also have a Nikon cool pix and love it....however on our last trip to CSA (Dec 09/Jan 10) we took a waterproof digital camera. It takes wonderful pics as it has 10mp. We took it on jet skis, on the cat cruise, in the caves, in the ocean, on the hobie cats, you name it! We were very pleased with it and didn't have to worry about our other camera getting ruined. It is the Fuji Finepix Z33 Waterproof 10MP Camera and it retails for around $269--a tad bit over your budget but if you can get an extra $69 it is well worth it :) You can see 3 of the pictures made with it under the February photo contest under my name.

March 13th, 2010, 09:47 PM

frozenbutt

Another vote for the Panasonic. We just bought our second. Our first we bought 4 years ago and the antishake is the best. Hard to hold a small camera steady especially if you zoom in. The Lumix is perfect for that. We just bought the FZ35 which might be out of your range but there are quite a few within the 200 dollar range

March 14th, 2010, 03:03 PM

2speedy1

You can get the Fuji Finepix Z33 For way under that $269 price on Amazon, depending on what color you want. They have it in black for $106, green for $129 most online places carry it for well under $150. Fuji is just releasing a new model, the XP10, waterproof camera as a upgade to this one that is 12mp and is cold proof and shock proof and a few more features for $199. Just depends on what you are looking for. Many of the manufacturers have waterproof cameras with a variety of features, and many of them just released new models this month as updated versions to them. It depends on what kind of features you are looking for.
I have really been looking at the waterproof cameras myself but they all really get mixed reviews. Some people say this one or that one is great, and the next say they take terrible pictures or they leak and fail. So it depends on who you listen to I guess, as it is for all reviews these days its hard to tell what to believe.
I am torn on buying a really nice point and shoot camera that is supposed to take really great pictures, and possibly buying a waterproof case for it, or buying a waterproof, dustproof, shockproof camera that will go anywhere and not have to worry about it, but that will only take ok pictures, maybe not great ones.

March 14th, 2010, 11:19 PM

HodagsInNebraska

I would HIGHLY recommend the Olympus Tough 6000 or 8000.
The 6000 is 10mp - waterproof to 10ft - shockproof from 4ft - $179 on Ebay
The 8000 is 12mp - waterproof to 33ft - shockproof from 6.6ft - $250 on Ebay
I personally have an older model, but it works great for snapshots. You can carry it around, bounce it around, and not worry about it at all.
I've had ours swimming, skiing, hiking, and never had any issues.

March 15th, 2010, 11:31 AM

rae_Dave

Just bought a Canon SX120 IS - 10x zoom -- not the tiniest one in the lot, but still small, lightweight and GREAT pics! $229 at BestBuy. Did alot of reading and research, but of course, each person's wants and needs differ.